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Hobble (custom)
To 'Hobble a woman' was the term used for a long-standing practice common, if not universal, amongst the clans of the White Face Barghast. The word Hobbler was used to refer to a woman who had been hobbled - not to the one(s) who had done the hobbling.Dust of Dreams, Chapter 10, US HC p.309-310Dust of Dreams, Chapter 14, US HC p.440Dust of Dreams, Chapter 15Dust of Dreams, Chapter 17 In Dust of Dreams The reasons for the hobbling of White Face Barghast women were varied, but usually included motives - openly acknowledged or not - such as: vengeance; envy; greed; punishment for 'major crimes' - real, perceived, or invented; or the removal of an inconvenient and/or hated woman from a position of influence and/or power. The result of hobbling was the extreme humiliation, total degradation, and complete dehumanization of the woman, thus making of her an object always available for unbridled abuse - sexual or otherwise.Dust of Dreams, Chapter 10, US HC p.309-310Dust of Dreams, Chapter 14, US HC p.439-440Dust of Dreams, Chapter 15Dust of Dreams, Chapter 17 The details of hobbling seemingly varied from clan to clan of the White Face. For example, the people performing the hobbling could be maleDust of Dreams, Chapter 10, US HC p.309 or - apparently more usually - female.Dust of Dreams, Chapter 17, US HC p.542-543 Although hobbling was always done to women, the White Face Barghast had a somewhat analogous custom directed towards men - which involved a "shaming" 'show trial' which would result in a sentence of castration.Dust of Dreams, Chapter 15, US HC p.467 The relative frequency of these two practices was never indicated. The White Face Barghast insisted on retaining the custom of hobbling, as "vicious" as it was, even though Onos Toolan, when he became Warchief of the combined clans - along with the 'Great Warlock', Cafal - wished to completely outlaw the custom.Dust of Dreams, Chapter 17, US HC p.539 Even Bakal, who had once been one of Tool's "worst critics" and "fiercest rivals" in clan Senan,Dust of Dreams, Chapter 10, US HC p.314Dust of Dreams, Chapter 12, US HC p.371-372 finally realized in the end that hobbling was actually a symptom of all that was 'wrong' with the White Face clans and that it was a particularly telling symbol of the Barghast drive to "self-destruction".Dust of Dreams, Chapter 17, US HC p.549 Quotes Speculations There was a mention of the 'cutting off of toes' elsewhere in Dust of Dreams in a completely different context, and for a completely different reason, than those of the White Face custom of 'hobbling'. It involved Warleader Gall of the Khundryl Burned Tears - fighting the Bolkando of Lether at the time - giving orders to Vedith before an upcoming battle. Gall finished his orders by telling Vedith not to let his warriors indiscriminately slaughter the enemy, but rather to capture them, then cut off their toes and leave these, now maimed and useless, soldiers to be a continuing burden upon Bolkando resources and an ongoing reminder of defeat.Dust of Dreams, Chapter 14, US HC p.426 This sort of thing was probably a common tactical practice on many different continents, amongst many different peoples, and may have been the original genesis - eventually corrupted - of the White Face Barghast custom of hobbling. The author, SE, may have intended this Khundryl episode to be a hint of how the practice of hobbling amongst the White Face clans could have come about. Notes and references Category:Events